The Hero Has Six Hundred Thousand Faces
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children.
Exodus 12.37
I. Introduction
One questions why Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land[1]. After all Moses did for both the people and God, it seems quite unjust to prevent him from participating in the final triumph[2]. If we are taught anything by the Bible, it is that God is just. This essay will propose an unusual answer to this question.
II. Common answers
Before beginning an investigation into a possible reason, a couple of commonly accepted answers to this question need to be considered.
1. Moses disobeyed God’s instructions regarding striking a rock to make water and was punished for his disobedience[3].
Why would God be so unbending and so vengeful as to have the punishment so far outweigh the transgression, yet tolerate such major transgressions as questioning Him when there was no water or food, actually building an idol while Moses was conferring with God, and the like. We are told in the Bible that God is patient and tolerant, this does not seem to follow that pattern. Therefore, the reason that Moses was prevented from entering the Promised Land because he failed to strike a rock with his rod rather than wave the rod as instructed should be rejected.
2. Moses questioned God when Pharaoh increased the burdens on the Hebrew slaves in response to Moses’s initial request to let the people go. Moses also initially resisted God’s call[4].
Why would Moses be punished, especially so severely, when others, such as Gideon, also questioned and initially resisted God and were not punished[5]? Furthermore, as discussed in the essay “Thoughts on the Exodus Story,” Pharaoh’s intransigence was planned by God and desired by Moses. Therefore, the reason that Moses was prevented from entering the Promised Land because he questioned God when Pharaoh increased the burdens of the slaves should be rejected[6].
3. We do not understand the ways of God.
This argument was discussed elsewhere and was rejected as it undermines our actions so we will not be able to progress as human beings. The only way we can follow what God wants is for us to understand God’s ways. It is only logical that we should be able to understand God’s ways and it is illogical that God would want to hide His ways and what He wants from us. Thus, this reason also should be rejected.
4. The refusal to allow Moses to enter the Promised Land was the work of the P author who was trying to enhance the role of Aaron and the priests and to diminish the role of Moses in the episode. If this is the case, then keeping Moses out of the Promised Land while allowing Aaron to enter would achieve both of these purposes. In this case, it would be left to the priests to instruct the people on the ways of God and to be intermediaries between the people and God.
This is a political argument which could be rejected or accepted depending on the whether the reader chooses to believe that the Bible is a political tool or is a tool used to instruct us and provide a theocentric history.
5.From the Vilna Gaon, the great eighteenth-century sage: If Moses had entered the Promised Land, he would have built a Temple. A Temple built by Moses would have been superior in security to the Temple built by Solomon and could never have been destroyed. Thus when God needed to punish the Israelites, He could not have done so by allowing Solomon’s Temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians. God would have been left with no other choice but to destroy the people themselves. By keeping Moses out of the Promised Land, God actually was ensuring their survival.
No matter what reason is assumed, the fact will remain that, for some reason, the text of Exodus prevents Moses from entering the Promised Land. It is this fact that will be pursued in this essay.
III. Another answer
A. Introduction
In 1949, MJF Books of New York published a book by Joseph Campbell titled The Hero With A Thousand Faces (New York, NY MJF Books, 1949, hardback). This book explores the monomyth and its many manifestations. In this book, Mr. Campbell identified several indicia which are possessed by every great myth. The story of Exodus can be shown to follow this monomyth format. In fact, it may be that the monomyth was actually invented by the authors of the Bible and the myths suggested by Campbell copied the Bible’s format. As is discussed in the essay “Jacob as Hero,” the story of Jacob also can be read as following the monomyth format. The denouement of both the monomyth and the story of Exodus are nearly exactly the same. Is this coincidence or was the monomyth invented, or at least used, by the authors of Exodus and the story of Exodus drafted so as to fit the template of the monomyth? Moses will be prevented from entering the Promised Land in each case (the monomyth and the story of Exodus), and the question of why Moses was prevented from entering the Promised Land will be answered by both interpretations (that the P author intended to diminish the role of Moses and increase the role of Aaron; or that the monomyth requires that Moses be prevented from entering the Promised Land) but slightly differently. After entering the Promised Land, in the P analysis, the priests play an important, if not central, role in carrying on the work of the Jews; whereas, in the monomyth analysis, it is the Jews themselves who will carry on the work[7].
B. Basic summary of the monomyth
(1) For the purposes of this essay, these indicia from the Campbell book will be summarized as follows:
The basic path the hero will take includes: separation-initiation-return.
(2) Steps
(a) Departure
(i) The call to adventure
The hero is away from home and is performing common day tasks when he receives a call to adventure. The call to adventure is from a supernatural source and signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and has transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of society to a zone of unknown.
(ii) Refusal of the Call
The hero initially refuses the call
(iii) Supernatural Aid
The hero receives aid from a supernatural power, often provided through an intermediary who acts as a protective figure who has or provides amulets against the dragon forces he is about to encounter,
(iv) The crossing of the first threshold
The hero then enters a region of supernatural power. Fabulous forces are encountered. However, having responded to the call and continuing to follow as consequences unfold, the hero finds that all the forces of nature support him.
The hero encounters a first threshold into the unknown which has a guardian who attempts to prevent passage.
A victory is achieved, often with the help of the supernatural protective figure and passes the threshold.
(v) The Belly of the Whale
The hero is swallowed up into the unknown that lies beyond the threshold and passes through the unknown. During this passage, the hero is transformed.
(b) Initiation
(i) The Road of Trials
The hero must undergo a series of tests during this passage. During this passage, the hero is aided by the advice, amulets and agents of the supernatural helper whom he met before his entrance into this region; or the hero may discover for the first time that there is a benign power everywhere supporting him during this passage. The hero, as aided by his helper, passes the tests.
(ii) The Meeting With the Goddess
This is the point when the hero experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her parent. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the hero finding the other that he or she loves most completely.
(iii) Woman as Temptress
This step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.
(iv) Atonement With the Father
The hero must have atonement with the Father-Creator who, while wrathful, is merciful.
(v) Apotheosis
A period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.
(vi) The Ultimate Boon
When the hero-quest has been accomplished, the hero must return with his life- transmitting trophy. The hero must now begin the labor of bringing the runes of wisdom back into the kingdom of humanity.
If the hero returns, he will do so supported by all the powers of his supernatural patron.
(c) Return
(i) Refusal of the Return
Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.
(ii) The Magic Flight
Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.
(iii) Rescue from Without
Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, oftentimes he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience.
(iv) The Crossing of the Return Threshold
The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.
(v) Master of Two Worlds
For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.
(vi) Freedom to Live
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live.
C. The story of Exodus applied to the Monomyth template
This template seems to fit the story of Exodus with the Hebrew people as the hero and God – through Moses[8] – the supernatural helper of the hero[9]. The amulet will be Moses’s rod. This will be illustrated by placing various citations from the story of Exodus next to the steps discussed above. It is also noted that there are six hundred thousand people, Exodus 12.37. However, since the story of Exodus becomes a bit jumbled and disjointed once the Israelites leave Egypt, the steps in the Hero’s journey will not be matched one-to-one by passages in the book of Exodus. However, the template still applies.
(1) Departure
(a) The hero is away from home and is performing common day tasks when he receives a call to adventure. The call to adventure is from a supernatural source and signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and has transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of society to a zone of unknown.
SEE Exodus 3.16 – 17 where God instructs Moses to “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and
say to them: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: ‘I have taken note of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt, and I have declared: I will take you out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites…to a land flowing with milk and honey”. Also Exodus 6.6 – 6.8. Clearly, the Israelites are conducting their normal business as slaves in Egypt when this man, Moses, appears to them and tells them they will be taken to a land of milk and honey. Since they are in Egypt, they are clearly away from home.
The hero initially refuses the call: The Israelites refuse the call in 6:9 (“But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses…” and 6:12 “But Moses appealed to the Lord saying ‘The Israelites would not listen to me…”). Still further Moses, himself, initially refuses the call: 4:1 “But Moses spoke up and said, ‘What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me..”God first has to convince Moses, which He does by having Moses cast his staff on the ground and then having the staff turn into a snake which God instructs Moses to pick up and then God has it turn back into a staff. After this, the task was to convince the Israelites. God also promises Moses that He will send another sign to the slaves in the form of turning water from the Nile into blood. Moses continues to argue with God claiming that he is not a proper spokesman because he is slow of speech and tongue (4:10). Moses objects so often and so vigorously, finally actually asking God to send someone else (4:13) that God actually gets angry (14). The ten plagues were as much a demonstration to the Hebrew slaves who were reluctant to leave Egypt as they were to the Pharaoh.
It is possible that Moses recognized that he had been away from Egypt so long that the people would not even recognize him (he may even have adopted a foreign accent so his speech would be foreign to the slaves) and thus be reluctant to follow him[10]. On the other hand, Aaron had resided among these people and thus would have their trust. Hence, Moses may have been viewing this call from a practical standpoint. This view may be prescient of the Golden Calf episode. In that episode, the people had not yet given Moses their full trust when they initially arrived at Mt. Sinai and Moses disappeared for so long. This disappearance may have confirmed their fears and mistrust of Moses (did this foreigner take them out of their homes so he could abandon them?) and may have driven them back to Aaron whom they trusted. See the essay “The Golden Calf”. Pethaps this is why the people complained so much when they were in the desert, they did not yet fully trust Moses and followed him only because they trusted Aaron and Meriam and those two told the people to follow Moses. Such “trust” is tenuous at best.
(b) Supernatural Aid
This is the episode where Moses encounters the burning bush, is charged with the duty to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and is promised help by God[11].
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed…And the Lord continued, …‘I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good ans spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey,….’…”But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?’….And He said, ‘I will be with you…” Ex 3:1-+. A magic rod is possessed by Moses and Aaron, Ex 7:9.
Moses is described by Peter Machinist in “The Man Moses,” as it appeared in Bible History Daily in 2012. The description concludes with the following statement: “Who, then, is Moses, as the biblical authors see him? Despite the complexities of their portrayal, he is at the core the appointed one who brings Israel to ‘serve God on this mountain’, and so to receive the Law for their lives.”[12] This view is consistent with the statement in Ex 23:20-22: “I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready.” Moses is that “angel”.
(c) The crossing of the first threshold
The hero then enters a region of supernatural power. This is clearly the land of Egypt as the Israelites attempt to persuade Pharaoh to let them go. The land of Egypt has changed for the Jews because they are not asking to be let go in order to carry out a religious practice. The land of Egypt thus was transformed to a region of supernatural power because the Egyptian Gods, especially as represented by Pharaoh, could be viewed as supernatural powers.
Fabulous forces are encountered. However, having responded to the call and continuing to follow as consequences unfold, the hero finds that all the forces of nature support him. The fabulous forces are the forces of Pharaoh, and the forces of nature supporting the heroes are the Ten Plagues visited on Egypt. Exodus 7.11 12.32 in response to the Pharaoh’s refusal to allow the people to go.
The hero encounters a first threshold into the unknown which has a guardian who attempts to prevent passage. The fleeing Israelites encounter the Reed Sea. Exodus 14.21 – 14.31.
A victory is achieved, often with the help of the supernatural protective figure and passes the threshold. Moses uses his rod to part the Reed Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through on dry land and then closing in and drowning the pursuing Egyptians. Exodus 14.26 – 14.29.
(d) Belly of the Whale
The hero is swallowed up into the unknown that lies beyond the threshold and passes through the unknown. During this passage, the hero is transformed. The Israelite people wonder in the desert for forty years, during which time, they fashion a Tabernacle, and organize themselves into groups for proper passage. They are given a set of laws; they are clearly transformed from slaves to people who could conquer a land and then rule over it. They have been transformed from a nation of slaves into a nation of destiny…into a nation of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19.5.
(2) Initiation
(a) The Road of Trials
The hero must undergo a series of tests during this passage. During this passage, the hero is aided by the advice, amulets and agents of the supernatural helper whom he met before his entrance into this region; or the hero may discover for the first time that there is a benign power everywhere supporting him during this passage. The hero, as aided by his helper, passes the tests. During the passage in the dessert, the people suffer from hunger and thirst and Moses, using his rod, gives them food, manna, bread, see Exodus 16.4-17. Furthermore, a cloud of smoke or a pillar of smoke follows them and is always positioned between the people and danger. During the war with Amalek (Ex 17:8-15), it is Moses’s rod held up which caused the Israelites to prevail.
(b) The Meeting With the Goddess
This step is clearly the encounter with God at Mt. Sinai.
(c) Woman as Temptress
This is the episode of the Golden Calf., Exodus 32.
(d) Atonement with the Father
In the Golden Calf episode, God is merciful, and, once the Israelites repent, grants them a clean slate, Ex 32:.
(e) Apotheosis
The tent and the Tabernacle are built during which time, the people are not physically moving toward their ultimate goal of the Promised Land.
(f) The Ultimate Boon
When the hero-quest has been accomplished, the hero must return with his life-
transmitting trophy[13]. The hero must now begin the labor of bringing the runes of wisdom back into the kingdom of humanity. This will require the Israelites to scatter through the new land, as well as through all other lands to spread the word. I believe this could be a precursor for the
Diaspora in which Jews are spread out over the world so the message can be given to all. Exodus 35.1 – 40.33, 40.36. Also, this calls to mind God’s promise to Abram “You will be a blessing to all Nations.”
God gives the Israelites the law: Exodus Chapters 18-20, 20-24, 25, 35 and 40, as well as Leviticus 17 and 25 and Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 15, 17, 18, 22 and 25. The law is given both at Sinai and during the years following while the people were in the desert.
If the hero returns, he will do so supported by all the powers of his supernatural patron. The Jews are “Chosen.” Exodus 35.1 – 40.33, 40.38.
(3) Return
(a) Refusal
In Ex 33:4: “When the people heard this harsh word, they went into mourning, and none put on his finery.” Furthermore, in Ex 33:15, Moses informed God that the people would refuse to go forward unless God leads: “And he said to Him, ‘Unless you go in the lead, do not make us leave this place.’”
(b) The Magic Flight
Exodus 33:7-11, 17-23, a magic tent (The Tent of Meeting) is constructed and God would meet with Moses in that tent.
(c) Rescue From Without
In Ex 33:17-23, God agrees to allow Moses to view His Presence (albeit from beneath God’s hand and from a cleft in a rock so that Moses’s life will not be endangered by actually seeing God’s face. This provides an additional guide and protector to the people (the rescuer from without) as they set out on the quest to the Promised Land. Also, see Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and the Book of Joshua
(d) Crossing
In Ex 34:6-7, after Moses has ascended the mountain one more time, God reminds Moses of the rights and obligations associated with the Covenant whereby the people will retain the wisdom gained on their quest, will integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. God provides both guidance and limits. Ex 34:6-7: “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed: ‘The Lord! A God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.’” These words, often known as the Thirteen Attributes of God, show that sin or transgression from the agreed-to covenant will be punished, but that repentance will grant a clean slate (and teshuvah will grant a new person) whereby both guides and limits are established during this meeting on the mountain. Furthermore, later, in Ex 34:11, God promises Moses that He “will work such wonder as have not been wrought on all the earth or in any nation; and all the people who are with you shall see how awesome are the Lord’s deeds, which I will perform for you.” But God also issues warnings regarding the native people who already inhabit the land the Israelites will migrate into. Again, promise of Devine assistance coupled with limitations regarding their actions.
(e) Master of Two Worlds
After this meeting, Moses descends the mountain and “Aaron and all the Israelites saw that the skin of Moses’s face was radiant; and they shrank from coming near, and he instructed them concerning all that the Lord had imparted to him on Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would leave the veil off until he came out; and when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see how radiant the skin of Moses’s face was. Moses would then put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.” Clearly, Moses and the Israelites had achieved a balance between the material and spiritual, and both, especially Moses, had become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds. Moses’s own personality had become subsumed into his role as the intermediary between the people and God thereby clearly showing the people that God was with them.
(f) Freedom to Live
At the end of the book of Exodus “the Israelites would set out on their various journeys.” (Ex 40:36) in which they would not need to anticipate the future nor regret the past because God would always be with them as evidenced by the cloud over the Tabernacle. Their journey can now resume. The hero, the Israelites, has become the champion of things to become, not the hero of things past. Also, see Leviticus and Numbers as well as the remaining TaNaKh as well as the history of the Jews, to and including the establishment of the modern State of Israel[14].
D. Observations
Even though, at first blush, it might appear that Moses is the hero of the monomyth (Moses is away from home, is attending to normal everyday duties when he receives the call, which he initially refuses, etc), the analogy breaks down later, especially when the hero returns with his life-transmitting trophy to bring the runes of wisdom back to the kingdom of humanity, for, as we know, Moses is not permitted to enter the Promised Land. Therefore, this essay applied the monomyth analogy to the people exiting Egypt under Moses’s leadership. The initial encounter between Moses and God at the Burning Bush does, however, fit into the traditional “call narrative” in which humans, especially prophets, are initially called to duty for God rather than the exchange between God and Abram for example where Abram does not resist. This “call” more closely resembles the exchanges between God and prophets such as Isaiah than it resembles the exchange between God and Abram. Moses was far more than a prophet, but the story specifically states that he was called by God. In this instance, it might be said that Moses was being called as a representative of the people before he was God’s helper in the monomyth. As discussed in the essay “The People versus Pharaoh,” God had to test Moses before he chose him. Thus, at this initial encounter, Moses should still be considered as part of the people. It was only after God was satisfied that Moses was the correct choice that God allowed Moses to be His representative, thereby changing Moses’s role from that of a representative of the people to a representative of God. It is then through Moses that the call to adventure is issued to the slaves. Thus, the call to adventure step of the monomyth appears to apply to the people.
It should be noted that under this theory, Moses was a representative of the supernatural aid assisting the hero/Israelites. In fact, in Genesis 23:20, it is specifically stated, “”I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready.” The meaning of the term “angel” in the Bible is somewhat complicated and changes from Genesis where the patriarchs are monolaters and hence accepting of other gods or angels, to Exodus where the nation is monotheistic in which they would not accept the existence of other gods or angels. However, for the purposes of the present investigation, this distinction is not important. Furthermore, the statement does not say that the “angel” will lead the people into the place that was made ready. The hero must return alone and the aide cannot accompany him. As such, Moses, a man and not an angel, is the one who will aid the Jews in their journey and should have been prevented from accompanying the Israelites into the Promised Land. This is what occurs, albeit under the guise of punishment for Moses’s insubordination; however, this fault is not disclosed in any significant detail. The death of Moses occurred before the Jews crossed the Jordan, his burial place is not known and there is no indication that any site was ever claimed for it even though the Hebrew Bible is very clear about the locations of the graves of the other patriarchs. The Exodus story demonstrates several aspects of Moses’s character, such as loyalty, bravery, perseverance, leadership, charisma, intelligence and resourcefulness. These are all traits that one would desire in a hero’s helper who assists the hero in his quest in this monomyth. As discussed above, once the hero accomplishes his journey, he must go on by himself to teach lessons, and the helper or aide must not accompany him. If the aide or helper accompanied the hero, the hero would not be able to learn and grow and progress on his own to reach his potential. These are all indicia of Moses, and why he was not permitted to enter the Promised Land.
Because Moses was an aide sent by God, Moses must not be viewed as a mere helper. His influence is far greater than that, as would be expected of a helper sent by God to assist the hero, the Jewish nation, in moving from the shadows (slavery, assimilation) into a role leading nations and mankind (chosenness) in the ways of God. The act of helping the Jewish nation from certain oblivion to leadership could be considered as assisting in the creation of Israel. That which unified Israel not only before the political unification of David but also under the monarchy, and which survived the division of the monarchy into two kingdoms, was Israel’s consciousness of itself as the people of Yahweh. This consciousness rested upon the covenant of Israel with Yahweh, which occurred under Moses’s guidance.
Also, as discussed in the essay
“God’s Ground Rules,” perhaps the reason why Moses was prevented from entering
the Promised Land was because Moses was too close to God, and knew too much of
His ways (see Exodus 33:13). This would, in many ways, inhibit the people from
exercising their free will as God would be too close to them when Moses would
provide advice, it would be too close to God’s direct advice thereby
influencing their free will, perhaps unduly influencing that exercise of free
will. Thus, Moses, like God, had to withdraw when the people entered the Promised
Land so they could exercise their free will unencumbered by a closeness of God
or God’s carefully chosen surrogate[15].
THE HERO HAS SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND FACES
- The essay applies the Campbell template to the story of Exodus. Can you provide further details for the template?
- Can you visualize the story of Exodus as a Horatio Alger story with the Jewish Nation being a hero in such a story?
- Do you think the authors of this story had a specific template in mind when they wrote the story?
- Do you think this is the first Hero’s Journey story?
The question posed at the beginning of this
essay concerns why Moses was prevented from entering the Promised Land. Could
one alternative answer be found in Deuteronomy 3:23 where Moses petitioned for
an act of God, yet it was not granted. Could this denial of Moses’s petition be
reported to show us that since God did not grant Moses’s petition and Moses was
one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all the Biblical characters, we
should not expect God to grant our petitions? See the essay “Prayer.”
[1] Moses appears to die a solitary death on Mt. Nebo, across the Jordan River in the land of Moab, a region generally at odds with Israel. Furthermore, Moses does not die amid promises and bedside attention in the manner of other Patriarchs such as Jacob and Isaac. Still further, Moses’s descendants are not described as being in a line of divine promise and authority such as the descendants of Abraham and Isaac, for example. In fact, Moses’s son, Gershom, has descendants who were priests to an idolatrous cult in the Israelite tribe of Dan (see Judges 18:30-32). Still further, the Bible gives no specific site for Moses’s grave, when it does for Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (the Cave at Machpelah), and even Rebecca (on the road to Bethlehem).
[2] See below for a further discussion of Moses and how he fits into this story.
[3] Deut 32:50-52. While it is not entirely clear exactly what Moses did to incur God’s wrath, per the tradition followed by Job’s friends, Moses must have done something otherwise he would not be punished. See also, Deut 34:1-3.
[4] Exodus 4:14 “Please, O Lord, make someone else your agent ”The Lord became angry with Moses,…”
[5] In fact, there is some Midrash (Rashi) that felt Moses’s reluctance was because he did not want to usurp the power of his older brother, Aaron. Still further, there is text that seems to indicate that Moses’s reluctance was due to his speech impediment. There are even those (Ramban) who believe that Moses’s reluctance and resistance is a virtuous act due to a fear of trivializing God’s message. Still further, the people initially refused as well, yet they were not punished. In such a case, God’s punishment of Moses seems to be excessive. Along the line of reasoning regarding filial responsibility, it should be noted that Moses was technically the Pharaoh’s grandson, so Moses should also have owed some duty to Pharaoh, but was not penalized for shirking that duty. Of course, we also saw what happened to Jonah for his refusal. Also note that this is the first time in the Bible that God becomes angry.
[6] Other reasons, equally obscure and inconsistent, appear to be suggested in Numbers 20, esp, 6-13; 27:12-14, as well as Deuteronomy 3:26; 4:21; 32:50-52.
[7] Folktales often have common properties which include a quest narrative, rescues, magic destinations, tests of commitment, summoning of elements, etc. See such tales in Judaism as “The Lost Princess” which is a short story by Nachman of Bratslav in his book Tales. This tale alludes to Jewish scripture, history and mysticism. After repeated attempts to rescue the Princess with repeated failures by the rescuer due to his breaking with the rules laid down, the rescuer finally enters a castle and rescues the princess. The ending of this story is abrupt and confusing. The princess is suddenly rescued after repeated attempts but the story ends with “The Rebbe did not tell how he freed her, but he did free her.” The ambiguity of ending seems to be similar to the ambiguity of Moses being prevented from entering the Promised Land. The moral of the story provided by Nachman is that the princess represented Shekinah, the guardian spirit of the Jewish people. To restore her and therefore to restore God to Himself, requires the efforts of a hero (the rescuer) who may represent either the Jewish people as a whole in their quest for God, or to the particular heroism of the tzaddik who performs spiritual talks on his people’s behalf. But if the rescuer is to perform the final step of rescuing Shekinah, he will be the Messiah, reuniting all that history has sundered – the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, the human race and God. It is precisely this redemption that humans themselves cannot imagine. Thus, the ending is left ambiguous. The ending of Moses’s story can be seen as being parallel.
[8] Moses is described by Adin Steinsaltz on page 75 of the book Biblical Images thusly: “His whole essence, from the start of his career, was one of aloofness, almost that of the stranger or one who comes from above.”
[9] This also fits into the overarching theme of the Bible: how we arrived at a time and place with the help of our god.
[10] In fact, this mistrust may have been exacerbated by the first effort to persuade Pharaoh to let them go because that first effort ended with Pharaoh imposing greater burdens on the people. Even though Aaron was also involved, it is reasonable to believe that the people would blame the foreigner, Moses, for exerting pressure on his brother to go along with him and thus at least partially exonerate Aaron while blaming Moses.
[11] The Bible makes Moses the quintessential outsider: his birth is obscure; his upbringing is outside of that of the people he will lead; his early life is obscure and then actually moves outside of the geographic area of the people; he marries an outsider: Zipporah is not from Israel but is from the Midanites of the region of Sinai (see Ex 2:15-22) and her foreignness is criticized by both of Moses’s siblings in Numbers 12 where she is characterized as a Cushite which is even more foreign to the Israelites being led by Moses; his descendants are not blessed. All of this could be viewed as making Moses into even more than a mere outsider, but actually an anti-hero. The anti-hero status of Moses allows us to distance him from human traits and drawbacks so we can focus on his deeds and teaching.
[12] As described in the article: “For the Bible, in sum, Moses is indeed a man apart – apart not only from the people he guides and the land to which he directs them, but apart also, in man fundamental ways, from the kinds of leaders previous generations of patriarchal figures had been. He remains the permanent outsider, a unique and towering figure.” As described, Moses dies on Mt. Nebo a strange and solitary death and burial which is completely different from the deaths of the other patriarchs. Still further, it is noted that Moses is the only biblical leader to see God “face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10). Even though the Bible lists Moses’s genealogy as going back to the patriarchs, it remains that he was reared apart from that community. Furthermore, this apartness is manifested in his life: Moses’s son, Gershom, is even strange. Even Moses’s appearance after his encounter with God (a glow or radiance) is different from the people.
[13] Ramban, commenting on Exodus 19:11 (“Let them be ready for the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down, in the sight of all the people, on Mount Sinai.”), explains “The people shall hear when I speak with you – and they themselves will become prophets when I speak…”. This appears to demonstrate that Ramban believes the purpose of the people’s overhearing God speaking to Moses is to give them a personal experience of prophecy so that they themselves will become prophets. This fits the pattern of the hero bringing back his wisdom and transmitting it to the kingdom of humanity. See, The Particulars of Rapture” by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, (Nw York, NY Image/Doubleday 2000, paperback). However, according to Ramban, the people later surrender the gift of prophecy back to Moses because they know their limits. But this does not dilute the fact that the people are a type of prophet, just not the same as Moses.
[14] Note that the Israelites were not sent on their mission without guidance. Even though Moses was not with them, Joshua was appointed to replace him, see Josh 4:14.
[15] Furthermore, according to the monomyth, once the helper has withdrawn, he must not be accessible; therefore, the location of Moses’s grave is unknown (Deut 34:6). Still further, as described in the abovementioned article by Peter Machinist, one of the reasons Moses is prevented from entering the Promised Land and is buried in an unknown location is that if he had been permitted to enter the Promised Land and his death and burial had followed the usual pattern of the patriarchs, the focus would have shifted from emphasis away from what he did and what he communicated to him as a cult figure.